Fez, Morocco, is a bucket-list mainstay for lovers of history, culture, and art—and soon, there may be yet another reason to make the trip. Khizanat al-Qarawiyyin, thought to be the oldest library in the world, will be re-opening in the coming months after three years of restoration.

The library has had a long history, and was originally opened in 859 C.E. as a mosque, built by Fatima Al-Fihri, who used the inheritance from her merchant father's coffers to fund what continues to be a center of learning and scholarship today. In 2012, with the library's vast collection of religious texts and philosophical treatises decaying in the Moroccan heat, the Moroccan Ministry of Culture began a full restoration of the space, led by the Canadian-Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni.

When it reopens, the library will retain much of its ancient splendor, but with a few 21st century upgrades including solar panels, a new gutter system, humidity controls, and air conditioning to control the climate that over the years was damaging the building itself—and the 4,000 ancient manuscripts it contains. A state-of-the-art laboratory has been added to the premises as well, where a full time staff will preserve and digitize the texts, and upgraded computerized security systems will replace the lock-and-key doors that housed some of the library's most valuable pieces. (Although, it's not like the ancient method wasn't thorough. According to the Guardian, some of the most valuable manuscripts, including a ninth-century Koran written in ornate Kufic calligraphy, were housed for centuries behind an iron door with four locks each corresponding to a key held by a different person. For the door to be opened all four key-keepers had to be present.)

While the under-the-hood upgrades are crucial to the survival of the artifacts contained within, the most drastic change to the facility may still be a 'What if?' According to Town & Country, the library's architects are lobbying for just one wing to be open to the public when it reopens: Prior to the restoration, the entire building was accessible only to researchers and scholars by appointment, and authorities are yet to decide whether to keep it that way. The summer of 2016 had been the original target date for the library's reopening, but as that has passed by, a new date has not been announced. According to the Guardian, however, Chaouni and team are shooting for it to be ready before 2017. Since it's never too early to start planning that cultural pilgrimage, here's hoping they decide to at least allow us a glimpse of the treasures contained within Khizanat al-Qarawiyyin.